Erin Stewart demanded more than $205,000 in separation pay as she left office; investigators found she was only owed around $14,000
Stewart received $121,978 before Democratic Mayor Bobby Sanchez halted payments in February
Investigators referred the findings to state and federal authorities, citing potential fraud, larceny, embezzlement, false statements, and official misconduct
As she prepared to leave office last summer, New Britain’s Republican Mayor Erin Stewart tried to bill her own taxpayers for $205,000 in unused leave benefits -- most of which she was not entitled to, according to a report by investigators at the Crumbie Law Group.
Stewart submitted a spreadsheet on July 3 to four city officials itemizing more than a decade’s worth of leave she claimed never to have taken: 192 sick days, 78 personal days, 126 holidays, and 240 vacation days, plus $900 in longevity pay, totaling more than $208,000, according to the report.
City policy permitted nothing close to that amount for a departing elected official, investigators found. Stewart asked that any further discussion happen by phone.
“The request to discuss the matter by phone is an obvious attempt to eliminate any discussion of the issue in writing, which would leave a document trail,” the report stated.
‘Don’t you think I’m due this?’
Human resources director Linda Guard told Stewart the claim misread city policy, according to the report. Stewart pushed back. “Don’t you think I’m due this?” she asked.
When the city’s “use or lose” rules eliminated part of her claim, Stewart reduced her vacation day demand from 240 to 89 but sent Guard a letter asserting that Guard and finance director Jonathan Perugini had already confirmed the applicable contract language, according to the report. Guard had neither written nor approved the letter, the report found. She told investigators she signed it only because she feared for her job.
Stewart collected $93,008 on July 16 for vacation days and holidays, and beginning Nov. 12 the city made installment payments toward an additional $57,941 for personal and sick time, according to the report.
Democratic Mayor Bobby Sanchez stopped the payments on Feb. 4, by which point Stewart had already collected $121,978. Investigators said she was owed $14,275. No previous New Britain mayor had sought anything close to that amount, the report found.
Crumbie called for the findings to be referred to state and federal investigators, citing potential fraud, larceny, embezzlement, false statements, and official misconduct.
“Today’s report is deeply disturbing,” Sanchez said in a statement. “The questions now extend beyond what happened, to who knew about it, who approved it, and who helped make it possible.”
In early June, New Britain demanded $241,560 from Stewart to cover improper severance payments, unauthorized tuition reimbursements, and legal costs from the Crumbie investigation, and revoked a pension she had improperly claimed for herself upon leaving office, according to the CT Mirror.
By Kevin Coughlin
